In case you missed it, I moved from New York to Washington DC in July of this year. Before moving, Evan (my boyfriend and reason we moved) and I knew ZERO people outside of each other.

Meeting people isn’t something I normally struggle with evidenced by the fact that no one was surprised when I met my best friend (now Operations Manager of TWN!) at jury duty.  But I had real hesitations when moving to a new city where we knew absolutely no one. All of the friends I have randomly made over the past few years while living in NYC happened organically- meaning, I didn’t need new friends,  I wasn’t looking for them-it wasn’t out of necessity.

But this time I knew that I would have to put in some effort if I wanted to meet people!

Even though DC is a few states south of NYC and just a 3 hours train, the culture is different. I can’t exactly put my finger on what’s different, but it is. There’s also few more degrees of separation between me and everyone else compared to NYC where I have about 15 mutual FaceBook Friends with most people I have ever met.

So far, I have been “lucky” to have met a handful of people. This city truly feels like my home. Even though I don’t have my best friends and family I am constantly running into people i know or texting with some of my new local friends. I’m super grateful to the wonderful women who have been so kind to me. 

This topic has been requested so I am delivering.  If you’ve got some topics you’d like me to cover, drop them in the comments on this post, or join the NEW private facebook group, Troupe TWN and let me know there! 

Here’s what’s worked for me!

1)  Talk to everyone – on line at the movies, the bagel store, the grocery store, at the nail salon. Most of the time, people want to talk too.  Ask questions about them instead of wanting to tell them all about you. When we express interest in others, they notice us.

2)  Say YES to events- work events, fundraisers etc. Even though they sound annoying and like the last thing you may want to do, there is always good that comes from networking!  Even if you don’t meet a friend, practicing your social skills is always important. PLUS, you never know who they could introduce you to.

3)  Go to group workouts- I’m not a big soul cycle or class girl (besides yoga) but I wanted to meet people with similar interests.  The first few weeks living here I dove into classes- and not too surprisingly- I met really cool people- who of course have the same interests as me.  

4)  Talk to the instructors- instructors are built in leaders. More people know them than they realize, and with that- comes a built in community.  Make friends with instructors that excite you or you align with.

5)  Ask your OG friends if they know anyone in the city you live in. I have met a handful of people through some of my friends I left behind in NYC. They have college friends or cousins in DC and reaching out to them felt really easy- especially having a friend already in common. Even though they knew they we were moving, it was only until I said “don’t you know anyone there??” that they would suddenly say “oh yea!” and put me in touch.

6) Follow up for plans- if you meet someone you are jiving with, don’t be afraid to ask for plans.  Coffee, manicures, or a workout class seem to work with me.

These are some tips that worked for me! I hope wherever you’re moving treats you well?

Got more tips? Drop them below!